Calum Hood: Is 5SOS Star About To Do A Zayn Malik?

5 Seconds of Summer star Calum Hood sent his fans into a frenzy on Sunday. As we reported here on Inquisitr, Hood sent out a Twitter message indicating that all was not well with the 19-year-old bass player. Hood and his band-mates Luke Hemmings, Ashton Irwin, and Michael Clifford have just finished a six-month world tour and are in the midst of a promotional round for their sophomore album, Sounds Good, Feels Good. Hood and the rest of 5 Seconds of Summer also have another mammoth 85-date world tour to look forward to in the new year.

Whilst Hood and his band-mates are undoubtedly thrilled at the success they have enjoyed, it might just be that the cracks are starting to show. On Sunday Calum Tweeted “one day I will leave and live a normal life.” Hood deleted the message almost immediately, but as Calum has discovered, in the world of social media fandom, “almost immediately” is far too late.

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Fans picked up on Hood’s message, and word that Calum was unhappy spread like wildfire. Hood’s fans began to trend the hashtag #WeLoveYouCalum. Hood and 5 Seconds Of Summer may not like being compared One Direction, but their career paths have been frighteningly similar.

Whilst Hood and his mates did not come to notice through a reality TV show, they did come to notice through a modern-day social phenomena, YouTube, and share management with One Direction. Calum and 5SOS have supported 1D for part of their past three tours. As a result, many of Hood’s fans are also One Direction fans, and whilst 5SOS see themselves as a bona fide pop-punk band, they are often labelled as a boy band.

Whilst Hood and 5SOS are a younger band, we can already see other similarities between them and One Direction. Most notable is the touring schedule. The pattern is familiar, an album is released and a massive world tour is announced on the back of the album. A yearly pattern is established and repeated until the record-buying public lose interest or the band simply cannot take any more.

Like One Direction, Hood and his pals have every aspect of their lives controlled by their management team, and the band members are turned from young men playing music into a money-making machine.

Bustledraws comparisons between Hood and One Direction star Zayn Malik, who walked out when the pressure became too much. Like Calum, Malik claimed that he wanted to “live a normal life.”

Whilst Hood followed up his enigmatic Tweet later in the day with one that claims he is happy, Calum’s fans will be concerned that the pressure is starting to become too much. As Sugarscape point out, Calum is obviously thankful for the support he received from 5 Seconds Of Summer fans.

Of course, Hood is not the first 5SOS star to feel the pressure of relentless touring. Calum’s band-mate Ashton Irwin recently told the Telegraph how sick he was of touring.

“I’m f***ing depressed, I f***ng hate this, we’ve been on tour for five months, I’m living out of this piece of s*** suitcase with only three wheels on it.”

Naturally, Hood and 5 Seconds Of Summer are thrilled by how far the band has come in such a short time. Calum has millions of fans all over the world, and arguably Hood’s career is just starting to really take off. The problem that Hood and his bandmates need to come to terms with is the fact that all of this comes at a cost.

Calum Hood will need to decide how long he is willing to pay that cost.